Adopting a baby into your home is a loving and beautiful blessing for all involved. Lifetime Adoption, one of the top Christian adoption agencies in the nation, has over 35 years of experience building families through domestic infant adoption.
In that time, our adoption professionals have witnessed that adoption can be a long and emotional process. During this life-changing experience, you will spend quite a bit of time talking to and getting to know your adoption professionals. You may share your hopes and fears with your adoption team as you look for a successful match.
While our coordinators and families first meet as strangers entering into a business relationship, Lifetime feels strongly that the sensitive subject matter of creating a forever family is a far cry from being a mere business transaction. We treat every adoption triad member with respect because we believe that adoption isn’t merely a one-stop transaction. Therefore, we uphold standards that distinguish us from other Christian adoption agencies.
Adoption: Growing a Family Through Christian Adoption Services
Adoption is one of the most sensitive, important, and intensive decisions you will ever undertake. As such, you will find yourself well-served by partnering with Christian adoption agencies who share your same values. At Lifetime, we believe this allows you to speak more openly and vulnerably.
Some people feel it is their God-given calling in life to adopt a child. For them, finding the best Christian adoption services can be essential for ensuring that the process is a rewarding one.
Christian adoption agencies like Lifetime know that adoption is also about building a family of Christ. They understand that certain people are called to adoption and treat the adoption process and those involved accordingly.
It is in this way that Christian adoption services provide more than connections to birth parents and assistance with the adoption process—they engage in the ministry of building families, a task best performed from a Christ-centered perspective, keeping in mind that the match being made is something God has intended all along.
Families fortunate enough to find such guidance through their adoption journey have taken great comfort from knowing they are in the hands of a team following its own call to create a strong family union where children can grow and thrive in a loving Christian environment.
If you are a Christian couple called to adoption, know that you will benefit from partnering with those who share your faith, convictions, and desire to pursue God’s will for your family. In addition, Lifetime Adoption offers a ministry discount to hopeful adoptive parents who are pastors or ministers.
What Are the Best Christian Adoption Agencies?
Christian adoption agencies have certain qualities that make them stand out among other types of adoption professionals. Most importantly: adoption agencies are one of the only fully licensed types of adoption professionals. If you’re working with a licensed agency, it means you’re putting your family’s future in safe hands.
Before you begin your search for Christian adoption services, let me explain what an agency is. These are licensed, regulated adoption professionals, and they’ll help you complete the adoption process. Agencies are the only type of adoption professional that undergoes regular governmental checks, which makes them the most reputable.
You may encounter professionals such as Christian adoption consultants or facilitators during your research. Unlike adoption agencies, they are not licensed or regulated, so working with them can often be an unreliable and confusing experience.
To complete the adoption process and welcome your newborn into your family, you’ll need the support of a fully licensed adoption agency. So that you can make the best decision for your family, we’ve provided a list of questions to ask Christian adoption agencies.
Questions for Adoption Agencies You Are Considering
Is your agency fully licensed?
Adoption agencies are the only type of adoption professional licensed to perform all needed services to complete an adoption. But, you may find other professionals that make it seem like they can do what an agency does.
However, this isn’t the case. Try asking, “Are you a fully licensed agency?” Otherwise, you may be placing the future of your family in the hands of a professional who can’t deliver what they promise.
How many hopeful adoptive parents are currently waiting?
While determining how to hire an agency, you want to be on the lookout for transparency and exact numbers. Try asking the adoption professional how many of their adoptive couples are waiting to be chosen by a birth mother.
Are your adoption fees due upfront?
Some Christian adoption agencies only share some of their fees at the onset. Instead, they provide hopeful parents with a best-case scenario cost estimate. Such an estimate can result in surprise fees later in the process.
Complete honesty is the first step toward building a trusting connection vital for your successful adoption. Look for the word “fixed” when learning about agency fees.
Fixed fees mean that no matter what unexpected obstacles come up or how much work agency staff put into your adoption, the fees from the agency will stay the same. Some Christian adoption agencies do not have fixed fees and will surprise hopeful adoptive parents with new fees later in the process.
How many adoptions did your agency complete last year?
Getting exact numbers are important. If the adoption professional’s response is vague or unrelated to the question, that is typically a bad sign. They might not give you a number but start detailing various stories from adoptive families they’ve worked with before.
Called to Adoption: A Christian’s Guide to Answering the Call
If you’re considering adoption to build your family, you might be overwhelmed as you wonder where to start. Education is key if you are looking to adopt!
Reading Called to Adoption: A Christian’s Guide to Answering the Call is a great place to begin learning about Christian adoption. The book is packed with beautiful adoption stories and tips! Hear directly from adoptive couples who have “been there, done that” and now seek to help hopeful parents!
Written by adoption expert, adoptive mother, and CEO of Lifetime Adoption, Mardie Caldwell, it provides invaluable resources and tips for all adoptive parents. This book will give you encouragement for your adoption journey!
You can listen to Called to Adoption on Audible and learn more about Christian adoption from anywhere you are. Whether you’re on a long commute to work, going for a run, or making dinner, you can educate yourself on how modern, open adoption works!
Called to Adoption – A Book About Christian Adoption Services
Here’s one adoptive mother’s review of this Christian adoption book:
“The book Called to Adoption is such a precious gift. I read it many times and got so much comfort and encouragement from the Bible verses and plan to use these as I create my son’s Lifebook. I have shared the book with many friends who are also looking to adopt.
Thanks for all you do to support adoptive families during this journey. I’ve attended lots of your webinars, and each one provided great advice and hope that God would place the right child in our family. It was a long journey but so worth the wait. May you be richly blessed for all that you have given to so many!”
How to Get Started in Adoption
Lifetime Adoption
To get started in your adoption journey, reach out to an agency like Lifetime. You can trust us to work with you, in tandem, respecting the God-given call upon your life to discover the child or children who is out there waiting just for you.
Every child deserves a family, and you deserve the best adoption experience. We’ve spent more than three decades supporting Christians through the process with our Christian adoption services.
Lifetime’s online application is free, so there is no charge to for you to apply. Why not take the first step and apply today? If our adoption professionals feel Lifetime is a good fit for your family, we will schedule a one-on-one phone conference. During this call, you can discuss your dreams and goals with an adoption professional.
While the infant adoption process can be long and overwhelming, it will all be worth it when you hold your child for the first time. If you want to adopt a baby with us, please contact us today for additional information about our domestic adoption program and your other options when adopting a baby. Let our experience as a top Christian adoption agency help you through the process of completing an adoption for a Lifetime!
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 23, 2014, and has since been updated.
Founder of Lifetime Adoption, adoptive mom, adoption expert, and Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P).
Since 1986, adoption expert Mardie Caldwell has been dedicated to bringing couples and birth parents together in order to fulfill their dreams.
“Many years ago, I was also searching for a child to adopt. We didn’t know where or how to get started. Through research, determination, and a prayer, our dream of a family became reality. I started with a plan, a notebook, assistance from a caring adoption consultant and a lot of hard work; this was my family I was building. We had a few heartaches along the way, but the pain of not having children was worse!
Within weeks we had three different birth mothers choose us. We were overwhelmed and delighted. Many unsettling events would take place before our adoption would be finalized, many months later. Little did I know that God was training and aligning me for the adoption work I now do today. It is my goal to share with our families the methods and plans which succeed and do not succeed. I believe adoption should be affordable and can be a wonderful “pregnancy” for the adoptive couple.
I have also been on both sides of infertility with the loss of seven pregnancies and then conceiving by new technology, giving birth to a healthy daughter. I have experienced first-hand the emotional pain of infertility and believe my experience allows me to serve your needs better.
It is my hope that for you, the prospective parents, your desire for a child will be fulfilled soon.”
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